Hair curler



A. G. BowYl-:R

HAIR CURLER 'Filed Jan. 25, 1938 /NVENToR ATTO EY ABBIE G. BOWYER Jap. 24, 1939.

Patented Jan. 24, 1939v HAIRCURLEB Abbie G. Bowyer, Los Angeles, Calif., assigner o! one-fourth to Samuel E. Fonts, Los Angeles,

Calif. y

Application-January 25, 1938, Serial No. 186,841

11 Claims.

This invention relates to hair curlers, the same being adaptable for use by operators of hairdressing establishments or by individuals who may choose to curl their own hair. The object is the production of a curler which is simple in structure, relatively cheap in manufacture and emcient in operation. A further object is to provide a curler which-is reliable in operation and which will produce a curl quickly andfwith the maximum of perfection. Usually, the tress to be curled is first moistened; and it is a further object of the inventionfto make possible the quick drying of the hair after curling.

Heretofore, the customary procedure in forming a curl is to start at the outer end of the tress and wind the latter inwardly toward the scalp. In so doing the tips of the tresses are notsumciently and are not uniformly curled, the result being that the tips project from the main body ci the curl and produce a'ragged and uniinished edect. My curlerstarts as near the scalp as is possible and draws the tress inwardly until every hair thereof is tightly wound within the curler and not the slightest part of the hair is left uncurled. By so proceeding, a much heater job of curling is eected. It is my belief that I am the nrst to invent a curler that is capable of the operation described and I claim the same broadly herein. `While I have shown and will now describe my preferred structure, I realize that the invention may be embodied in somewhat clierent forms without departure from the spirit thereof, and I desire it to be understood that the appended claims are intended to `be construed as broadly as their terms and the prior art admit. i

In the drawing forming a part of this application, Fig. l is a perspective View of the invention showing the parts'in position for receiving the tress of hair for curling; Fig. 2 is a View like Fig. l except that the outer or upper half of the curler-has been turned and the tress is shown partly drawn in; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken,

horizontally and centrally through Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a plan view4 of the curler `with the parts as in Fig. 1 except ythat the locking slide is shown partially withdrawn; Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5 5 of Fig. 4, andlFig. 6 is a bottom plan view on a much smaller scale. Fig. 6 shows the curler in its preferred size, the other views being enlarged.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the curler is comprised of two mainv parts. which,

when assembled, make up a hollow pill-box structure. The part designated IU, is the inner part, being, when in use, next to the scalp. The outer part is designated Ii. Both parts have a flat, circular face-plate with a peripheral flange, lll and Il'respectively. These flanges abut when the curler is assembled for use, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The inner part I0 has a centrally positioned, cylindrical post I2 which extends through the hollowed part of lil and substantially through the part ii, the latter having a central aperture to receive the upper end of the post upon which the part l I is adapted to turn. Adjacent its outer end, the post l2 is provided with a peripheral groove i3, beyond which is a head I4. The inner surface of the groove is substantially flush with the outer face of the part il when the latter is in position for use.

Mounted for sliding in a vbeveled groove in the outer face of the part Il, is a thin locking plate l5, preferably made of steel. At approximately its central part, this plate is provided with a key-hole slot having an elongated narrow portion i6 and an enlarged circular portion il. At its end, the plate has a short outwardly-turned operating ange it. At'the end of the slot opposite the narrow portion, the plate is swaged outwardly, at id, to form a stop for limiting .the outward movement ci the plate. When the swaged part engages the head iii, the plate is arrested and the enlarged portion il of the slot concentrically surrounds the said head so that the latter can pass through it. When in this position, the outer part il of the curler can be removed and the curled trees be released.

At one point in the perimeter of each of the parts l@ and li a deep slot is formed, the same cutting through the respective flange tila and i la and. extending almost to4 the central post i2. The slot in the part lil is designated 2li. Its side walls are parallel throughout and the slot is narrow. The slot in the outer part ill is designated 2|. Where it cuts through the Iiange ll''and for some distance in the face of the part il it is of the same width as the slot 2li. Then it spreads on bothsides to form relatively large lobes"l 22 and 23 respectively. These lobes are so shaped as to provide what may be termed hooks at 24 and 25. As appears from Fig. l, when the part il is turned to bring the slots 2li and 2i into register a deep slot is provided which extends almost to the post I2. The slot extends directly toward the said post, as shown, although that is not necessary. It is desirable, however, when the two lobes 22 and 23 are employed, as`will presently be explained.

The curler may be made oi any suitable Amaterial. Since the hair is usuallymoistened before curling, it should be thoroughly dried before the curler is removed. It is a common practice to dry the curled hair by subjecting it to a blast of heated air. If the curler be made of a material which is a good conductor of heat, the drying operation can be performed quickly. I, therefore, prefer to make the curler of metal, such as aluminum, stamped, cast or otherwise formed; and, still further to facilitate drying, the walls of the partsA I0 and should be made as thin as practicable and should be provided with Ventilating passages. Thus, the faces of said parts have the openings 26, and the flanges Ill'L and Il* have the radial perforations 21. These perforations may be elongated slots if preferred.

.To enable the operator to obtain a better grip on the parts and the perimeters of the latter are knurled, or otherwise roughened, throughout their entire extents except for a short space on each side of the feed slots 20 and 2|, as shown.

Having described my preferred structurel will now explain its operation. The parts I0 and are locked together and the feed slots are brought into register, as in Fig. 1. A tress, preferably moistened and of a size that can be crowded into the feed slot, is separated from the rest of the hair. I'he operator now holds the part i0 in one hand and, by the sense of touch. locates the feed slot 2l, 2|. This is easily done because of the blank spaces in the knurling. Holding the separated tress with her other hand, she passes 'it edgewise or laterally into said slot, crowding it in luntil all the hairs of the tress extend across the interior space and project through the slots in the faces of the curler. She then slides the curler on the tress until the face of its part is as closel as practicable to the scalp. A slight rotation of the part brings about the condition indicated in Fig. 2, in which the root vor scalp end of the tress is shown at 28 and the free end at 2l. Ihe part has been turned clock-wise and the tress has been moved into the lobe 22 of the slot 2|. This turning movement pulls the free end of the tress inwardly; and, as the rotation of the part continues, the tress is drawn in more and more, being wound about the post |2, until every hair of the tress is' completely within the curler., Thus, starting at or near the scalp, the hair is curledprogressively as the tress is drawn inwardly; and when the winding or turning operation is nished, every hair is curled to itsverytip. Theoperatormayuseaiingerasa brake on the tress and-thus vary the tightness of the curl.

This operation is repeated for every tress, a curler being required for each of them. The curling job is now completed and the hair is ready for the drying operation, which I shallnot describe since it is no part of my present invention.

Some people are right-handed and others are left-handed. and it may be more convenient for one to turn the part reversely 'to the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow at the top of Pig. 2. The curling operation wouldbe the same as has been described except that the tress is drawn inwardly through the lobe 2l. Inone case, however, the curl would be given a right-handed twist and, in the other case,v it would be given a left-handed twist. I Some prefer a job of curling in which the curls on one side of the head are reversed from those on the opposite side. 'Ihat is a matter of taste; but my curler is adapted to that kind of a job.

' Having described my invention and the man ner of its use, I claim:

1. A hair curler comprising an inner and an outer member, an axis element connecting said members about which one of said members is rotatable, each of said members being provided with a slot in its peripheral edge adapted to receive a tress of hair and a side wall of the slot in the outer member being adapted to pull the tress inwardly and s|multaneously wind it about the axis element when the rotatable member is turned.

2. A hair curler-as set forth in claim l in which the slot in the inner member is adapted to receive the tress near the hair roots and the slot in the outer member is adapted tc receive and pass the tress through it toward said roots as said outer member is rotated, whereby the tress is drawn in between the said members and is curled about said axis element.

3. A hair curler comprising an inner member having a slot extending into it from its side edge, an outer member rotatably mounted on said inner member, an axis element connecting said mexn-v bers, said outermember having a slot extending into it from its side edge, said members being shaped to provide a space between them and surrounding the axis element, said slots being adapted to be brought into register with each other and to receive a tress of hair which extends across said space, wherebywhen the outer member is rotated the tress is drawn into said space and wrapped upon itself about said axis element to form a curl.

4. A hair curler comprising an inner circular, disk-like member with an outwardly projecting peripheral flange, an outer circular, disk-like member with aninwardly projecting peripheral flange, a central post connecting said members upon which the outer member is rotatable, means for securing the said members together with their flanges meeting at their adjacent edges to provide a chamber within the anges, said securing means permitting rotation of the outer member, a slot for and extending from the perimeter of each of said members, said slots opening to said chamber, the slot in the inner member being adapted to receive a tress of hair near the hair roots and the slot in the outer member being adapted to guide the tress into the said chamber. the construction being such that when the outer member is rotated with respect to the inner member the tress is drawn into the said chamber and. is coiled therein about the said post to produce a curl.

5. A hair curler as set forth in claim 4 in which the peripheral surfaces of the members are knurled except at and adjacent the said slots, for the purpose'speciiled.

e. s nur curler as ser forth 1n claim 4 1n which the members are provided with Ventilating openings, for the purpose specified.y

7. In a hair curler, inner and outer relatively rotatable superimposed disks having contacting peripheral flanges forming, with the disks, a circular interior chamber, a post connected rigidly with one of said disks and extending centrally through said chamber, said post forming an axis upon which the other disk may rotate, means attached to said other disk and engaging with said direct the tress into the said chamber, the construction being such that the rotation of the outer disk pulls the tress inwardly and causes it to wind about said post, whereby the tress is curled about said post.

8. A hair curler as set forth in claim '7 in which the post is rigid with the inner disk and has a peripheral groove adjacent its outer end and in which the means for holding the disks together comprises a thin plate which is slidable in ways on the outer disk and is provided with a slot through which the outer end of the post projects, said plate being adapted, when slid in one direction, to enter the said groove inthe post.

9. A hair curler as set forth in claim 7 in which the outer disk is adapted to direct the tress into the said chamber by being provided with a slot which extends inwardly from the perimeter of ,the disk, said slot having a lobed enlargement at its side through which the tress is drawn as the said disk is rotated in one direction.

10. A hair curler as set forth in claim '7 in which the outer disk is adapted to directl the tress into the saidchamber by being provided with a posite direction.

1l. A hair curler comprising an inner member,

' said member having a passage-way extending in- Wardly from its peripheral edge for receiving a .-tress of hair adjacent the hair roots, an outer member spaced from -the inner member, an axis connecting said members and upon whichthe' outer member is rotatable, said outer member having a passage-way extending inwardly from its peripheral edge to receive the tress which has been entered into the passage-way of the inner member, a side wall of said passage-way in the outer member being adapted to engage the tress and to pull it inwardly between the said members and simultaneously to wind it about the said axis when the outer member is rotated.

ABBIE G. BOWYER. 

